IAHGames LAUNCHES TOP GAME GRANADO ESPADA WITH INNOVATIVE HYBRID BUSINESS MODEL

After two months of free play, IAHGames has announced a hybrid business model for their popular pioneer MMORPG title, Granado Espada. The model offers affordable game play specifically tailored for South East Asian gamers.

Gamers across South East Asia who wish to take up or continue playing the game will have to pay a minimum monthly fee of S9.90/300 pesos/RM20/USD5.60.

Said Granado Espadas Regional Product Manager, Jonathon Sze: "This is not a subscription fee. We are implementing an affordable hybrid pay to play model for the gamers in this region."

For Granado Espada, unlike other MMORPGs on a subscription model, gamers are given G-Points which can be used to purchase premium items within the game after the deduction of a nominal charge from the monthly fee. Gamers who wish to have more G-Points to purchase items can also opt to buy only G-points as well.

Gamers can enjoy these game values by purchasing Game Value Cards at selected retail outlets, as well as online stores.

The business model will take effect on 30th August, but gamers can start buying the pre-paid cards from 16th August.

As a goodwill gesture, IAHGames will reward gamers who have been playing Granado Espada since the Pre-Open Beta Testing by giving those who have at least one level 20 character 90 days of free game play time.

Sze said the business model was carefully crafted after taking into account all of the concerns and opinions voiced from the community.

"We wanted to create a business model that was affordable and still preserve the integrity of the game play," Said Sze.

IAHGames found during their testing that offering unlimited accessibility can lead to overcrowding, and sometimes an influx of players who often does not follow the rules of conduct and fair play. While a large community is usually considered a good thing, the service actually suffers in the long run, if those players do not invest anything other than time into the service.

IAHGames is confident that this business model will allow the company to provide a quality service to the real fans of the game.

"At the end of the day, IAHGames top priority is to provide quality online game service to South East Asian players," said Sze. "As long as we stick by that goal, Granado Espada will continue to attract players."

Since its Pre-Open Beta Test three months ago, the first English version of the hit Korean MMORPG has more than 300,000 accounts activated and is currently one of the most popular online games in South East Asia.

For more information, please visit ge.iahgames.com.

About Infocomm Asia Holdings
Infocomm Asia Holdings Pte Ltd is one of the leading operator and distributor of online games in South East Asia. The companys philosophy, to align themselves with only top MMORPG publishers globally, is in line with Singapores vision to become an interactive digital media hub for the region. IAH holds the licence to operate Koreas top MMORPG, Granado Espada, as well as the much-anticipated MMORPG, Hellgate: London. The company also plans to release a third MMORPG in 2007 - Emil Chronicle Online (ECO), which is published by Gravity, the company behind South East Asia¡¯s top MMORPG, Ragnarok Online. IAH will continue to bring the best online games from around the world to the gamers in South East Asia.

About Granado Espada
Granado Espada is a highly-anticipated MMORPG developed by Hakkyu Kim, the creator of Ragnarok Online and CEO of IMC Games and published by HanbitSoft. Set in a fantasy world with Baroque architecture and influences, the game contains a host of unique features such as Multi-Character Control (MCC), Xtreme Artificial Intelligence (XAI) and Recruitable Non-Playable Characters (RNPC). Gamers play Old World explorers taming a new land recently founded by Ferrucio Espada which is richly populated by wild animals and monsters. The game won the Presidential Award for the Best Game of 2006 in the 2006 Korean Game Award, as well as the award for Best Graphics.